We are happy about the first broadcast of "Machen statt warten - Menschen von der Straße helfen sich selbst" by Susanne Böhm and Uwe Kassai today, 22.02.2022, at 23:35h on ARD.
What happens when people who are dependent on social aid start to help themselves? Harry and Iva have been organizing a food distribution on the street since the first Lockdown in Stuttgart, and André has unceremoniously turned an entire office building in Cologne into a visionary housing project for the homeless. How do professional helpers react to this new self-confidence? And how does the commitment change the actors themselves, who until then had been passive recipients of welfare?
A young team consisting of two women and one man starts a multi-million construction project - The film sheds light on the departure of residents of the city who are homeless or former drug addicts participating in a substitution programme. Social work can alleviate the symptoms of poverty, but a better life also requires those affected themselves. Taking the initiative, taking care of oneself, getting involved creates self-confidence and makes one independent. This makes it possible to claim space in the city. The stories from Cologne and Stuttgart show the power that can come from self-empowerment and they provide new answers to two old questions: Who owns the city? And: How do we want to live together?
More information about the film can be found here.
